Colin Firth was born to play Mr Darcy. So can anyone else shine in the lead role?

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Colin Firth: ‘definitive’

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Matthew Macfadyen: ‘sulk’

By Chris Hastings, Arts Correspondent

12:01AM BST 28 Aug 2005

It is universally acknowledged that Colin Firth was born to play Mr Darcy.

Despite a new "sexed-up" film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice with Matthew Macfadyen in the leading role, Firth remains synonymous with the role.

Andrew Davies, who wrote the screenplay for the renowned BBC adaptation, last night concurred with Jane Austen aficionados and said: "Matthew Macfadyen is a brilliant actor, but I cannot imagine him being as good as Colin Firth."

Austen followers say the latest version of the classic, on general release on September 16 and starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennett and Macfadyen as Darcy, does nothing to undermine the appeal of the BBC's Bafta-winning adaptation, which featured a dripping Firth emerging from a lake.

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The film has also been criticised for taking "unacceptable liberties" with the novel and for portraying Darcy as if he is in a "perpetual sulk".

Joan Klingel Ray, a professor of English at the University of Colorado and the president of the Jane Austen Society of North America, who has seen a preview of the £20 million film, said Macfadyen wasn't a patch on Firth who was "simply more attractive".

She said: "The Darcy in the film does not have the quality of attractiveness that Colin Firth has. I don't want to cause any offence but Colin is simply a much better looking man than Matthew."

She added: "I think Colin had the huge advantage of working with a terrific script which gave him glamour scenes which were not in the novel. The scene where he emerges from the lake is a case in point. The genius of these extra scenes was that they were in keeping with the book and the characters.

"There is simply nothing in the film to compete with anything like that. The new Darcy is too sullen for far too long. We do not see the gradual shift in his emotions which is an important part of the novel. He spends too much of the film looking like a young Heathcliff."

Prof Klingel Ray thought that the film's deviations from the 1813 novel were a step too far. She said the rustic look of the film and the obsession with pitting the action against the elements ensured that the film felt like an adaptation of a Brontë or Bridget Jones novel. "The film is full of sexual imagery which is totally inappropriate to Austen's novel," she said. "In one scene a wild boar, which I assume is supposed to represent Darcy, wobbles through a farm with its sexual equipment on show. Also much of the action takes place against tempestuous weather which simply isn't in the novel. None of this is Jane Austen. The passion in Pride and Prejudice is more of a linguistic affair. I read an interview with the writer when she said she was trying to be honest but honest to whom. I feel the whole thing has been de-Austenised."

Prof Klingel Ray said transplanting the famous proposal scene from the cottage to a ruined temple gave the film a feel of Jane Eyre rather than Pride and Prejudice. "I felt we were watching Rochester and Jane meet for the very first time. Later on there is a scene of Darcy and Elizabeth talking and there is a painting of gods and goddesses cavorting behind them. That also has nothing to do with Jane Austen."

The academic was, however, full of praise for Knightley as Elizabeth and Rosamund Pike who stars as her sister, Jane. She thought Jennifer Ehle, who played Elizabeth in the BBC series had been a little too "heavy" for the role.

The new film which has been directed by Joe Wright, a relative newcomer to the industry, is due to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival next month.

Davies last night revealed that he had been doubtful about casting Firth but said the actor had delivered a superlative performance. "Darcy was Colin's peak achievement and he was born to play the role. He gave a superlative performance which I do not think Matthew will come up to. Colin burnt his way into the hearts of England's womanhood."

David Bamber, who played Mr Collins for the television adaptation, agreed that Firth, and Ehle, would be a tough act to follow. "I do think these things stand or fall on casting," he said. "I think Jennifer was amazing even though she was comparatively inexperienced. Colin, I think, was the definitive Darcy.

"I think meeting an actual aristocrat in 1809 or whenever the novel was set must have been an absolutely monstrous experience. I think Colin understood the social side of the story and managed to capture an element of that without going too over the top. He had the voice, the chin and the manner and slowly he let you in on the change he was going through."

He added: "All too often, nowadays, there is a tendency to say, 'Let's drop the accent, after all it is just a story about two edgy people.' But if it was just about two edgy people, there would be no story to tell. The social context is everything to this story. Without that there would be no struggle or tension. If you have an estuary English Darcy, what is the point?"

Ehle said: "I remember when we were about to make our version of Pride and Prejudice, there were so many letters to The Times and other newspapers saying how dare the BBC spend money on remaking this when the definitive film version already exists with Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson. So you never know. Nobody owns Pride and Prejudice. It's out there in the public domain, and it's good that people are taking a fresh look at it."

Deborah Moggach, the writer of the new film, said: "We have two wonderful stars and we are very pleased with their performances. I am not going to say whether either of our leads are better or worse. I will just say we have our own Mr Darcy.

"Matthew has put in a very complex performance and he has a very interesting journey in the film. His performance works on so many different levels and we do not react to him in a simplistic manner. He has a whole history behind him."

There were signs last night, however, that Macfadyen had managed to win the support of some diehard Firth fans. Members of the Republic of Pemberley Society, which was founded in honour of Firth, have been pleasantly surprised by the usurper.

A spokesman said: "The BBC version is highly cherished and Firth's Darcy was the reason why we are here as a society. A number of our members, however, have attended previews of the film and have been pleasantly surprised by what they have seen. They think he has done a very good job. We have reports that he is absolutely wonderful."